


Another World

by Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron



Series: A Different Life [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Dark, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-03-05 05:09:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13380831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron/pseuds/Team_Alpha_Wolf_Squadron
Summary: Krypton didn't die until Kal was ten giving Jor enough time to create a rocket for him and his family. Landing on the manor's grounds Bruce grew up with the El's as his new family.





	Another World

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm thinking of starting part 2 again. Maybe don't get too comfortable with this beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, I was not happy with the beginning of the next instalment. So, until i figure out what I'm going to do with it, I hope you like a prequel. This will be from Kal's point of view, since, I wanted to do one. I think the next one will be Bruce again. Bear with guys.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe.

 _"Mother!"_ Kal tried to say, his voice garbling as his throat struggled to form the words and take in the air it needed.

His vision was growing fuzzy. The land they had stood on seemed to be getting nearer each time he blinked. It was so strange, he thought, his knees giving way and landing on the weird ground. It was so different to home. The ground beneath him seemed almost soft somehow as well as hard, parts of it clinging to his nails as he raked them in his quest for breath.

The ground disappeared from under him, his mother's face coming into view. 

She was holding him, he realised distantly. She hadn't done that since he had been able to support himself. 

It was a strange sensation, again, not usually what he was used to. He found the surprise not helpful at all, maybe even making things worse as he tried to remember what different parts of his body did. 

There was darkness threatening to overcome him. Even more than the already dark colours that had greeted him when he first stepped outside of his ship. This appeared to be a dark planet he realised. He had meant to remark as such to his father, maybe even grabbing a handful of that spikey wisps that littered the floor before his struggle with breathing began. Perhaps later, when father had managed to make him better, he would go out and grab some. 

Something loud echoed in his ears, Kal taking a moment to realise it was coming from his father. He was knocking. Knocking on some weird brown sheet. He did it again, Kal marvelling at the loud booms it produced. It seemed to echo, go on and on long after his father's hand had removed itself from the sheet. Kal would have to investigate it later. 

_"Mo-her."_

His father knocked again, Kal truly beginning to panic now as he felt himself ache and gasp. It wouldn't be long now until he passed out. Hopefully that was all he would do. Father had promised this place was safe, that it wasn't burning like their home. He'd promised Kal would grow up happy here. Kal would hate for his father to be wrong, not least because he had sacrificed dying in his home to dying somewhere stars away. 

Something loud pierced his ears again, Kal tilting his head to look at the brown sheet. It was tilted slightly, Kal blinking again in case he hadn't seen it right. But no, he had, the sheet was tilted, and there, standing in the gap, was a boy. Kal didn't notice much as he fell limp, only that he looked sad. Scared, yes, since his screaming was rattling around Kal's head, but there was something sad about him too. It was hard to pin point passed out as he was.

All too soon all thoughts of that sad boy fled his mind. In its place were memories of his home. Of his father waking him in the dead of night. His mother arguing that they should have left days ago if his father hadn't insisted on staying to try and help.

 _"They are our people Lara. I can not simply turn my back on them,"_ Father had said, his tool in one hand as he fit the final wire to their ship.  _"Just because you are happy saving your own skin does not mean that others are the same."_

Mother didn't deem that with an answer. She didn't have to. Lara, from the moment she'd met Jor when Kal was three, had managed to be able to shut down any argument that happened between them with a look. Kal didn't know what the look was, he'd always been turned away or busy in another room, but, whatever it was, it was powerful enough to have Jor retreating to his work as Lara started fixing Kal's rebreather. 

 _"Now, remember Kal. These people may look like us but they're not. When we get there, we have a lot of learning to do."_ It was something both of them had drilled into him when they had been together and apart. 

This new place, Earth, they had chosen because of its compatibility not just with their physiologies but with their forms. Kal had marvelled when Father had shown him a hollogram of the people he'd made contact with. They had looked just like Kryptonians, only, their clothes were different. Their language too, although Father had made sure all of them knew a few basic phrases to get by on their first couple of weeks.

Kal tested a few out as he strapped himself in, noting his mother sending him an odd look as she helped father with the finishing touches. He heard them speak, mother lamenting about their language. It wouldn't be until a few weeks passed in his new home that Kal realised she was mourning the loss of Kryptonese. 

A rumble startled Kal out of his practicing, his hands clutching the seat as the tremor seeped into his very bones. There would be more to come after that, the rumbling getting so bad that it never stopped. It rocked him back and forth, searing his ears with noise as his parents grabbed Krypto and shut themselves in, starting the ship. The last sounds Kal ever had of krypton were of it dying.

He woke with a gasp, something wet falling from his head. He looked at it for a minute, registering the thin material and wondering what it was doing being used on his head. Was it some kind of clothing? The thought kept him occupied enough that he didn't even remember his struggle with breathing until he was gasping again as the cloth he threw in the air fell back down with a splodge. 

His hand went to his chest, the tightness gone and his throat clear enough that when he garbled out a word, it rang clear in the room.

Kal sat further up, setting the weird clothing to the side to examine later as he took in his new home. 

It was spacious, was his first thought. The room itself was bigger than the one Kal had on Krypton. However, where wide open spaces usually made up their rooms at home, here, the room seemed to be tilted, sectioned off even at parts. At others there were weird contraptions blocking the walls. 

He swung his legs around, finding himself doing it a few more times as he noted the different texture under his skin. Someone had changed him, his space suit missing to be replaced with material not unlike the cloth. Thankfully, these were dry and the muted white and blue not completely alien to look at.

The bed under him was bigger than the one he had at home too. It was odd, but Kal had been taught not to complain. He wasn't allowed to. Crying for home wouldn't do any good. Home was gone. It was never coming back, and tears were a useless function, how could they help him revive a dead planet? 

So he didn't complain, and instead, focused on the good things. Like being able to breathe. 

Finding the door in his new home proved to be a challenge Kal never thought he would have to face. It seemed on Earth doors were different to how they were on Krypton. Just like everything was really. There were no big stones, or doors that would slid if he was near. It took some hefty exploration before Kal was standing in front of a brown part of the wall, reminiscent of the one his father had knocked at and struggled to open it. When he did figure out that it required a twisting motion to activate the movement program Kal really did feel like crying. While his hope had been to step out and find his parents, what he actually found was more rooms like the one he'd been in. Worse, there was one long hallway full to the brim with doors, and more hallways after that.

It was a struggle. But one Kal wasn't giving up on. This was his new home. He'd have to figure this out eventually so it might as well be now. After all, who knew if the medical treatment he'd been given to allow him to breathe was merely temporary. There was every possibility that this may be his only chance for a while to truly try and get to grips with Earth. 

That thought process didn't exactly make his exploration easier, but it did make him more determined. 

By the time a conceivable amount of minutes had passed Kal had explored three bedrooms similar to his own. He was on the other side of the hallway now, hoping that their hosts had the thought to put Kal opposite his parents. Yet, when he opened the next weird door he was met with another empty room. 

He would have left it, had he not noted this one differed from the others. For one, it was much bigger than the last three and his own. For another, there were different objects in here. Ones Kal had not seen in the others, and ones that were significantly more appealing to the eye. Kal had begun to fear that Earth really was dull, he was glad to have been proven wrong. 

On the mattress, not far from the door, there was a bright red object. Kal felt himself grinning as he looked at it, marvelling at the different tone to the red he was used to, yet red it was all the same. He wondered what it felt like, what it was even. It looked like some kind of stencil, like the ones he'd seen in the old Kryptonian histories. Apparently, in the ancient times, Kryptonians used to use a liquid to write instead of their computers. Earth must still be in that time period. A frightening thought as Kal started to wonder at some of the things Earth may not have. But thoughts that were promptly knocked out of his head as something white barrelled into him.

 _"Krypto!"_  

Krypto barked happily, his weight seeming lighter than usual as Kal battled away his happy paws. 

There was a garbling not far from him, Kal managing to wrestle Krypto off him enough to see the sad boy from the doorway watching them. He was still sad, maybe even more so. Kal took a moment to just look at him, when the sadness faded into background noise and he was able to focus on him Kal wanted to find his mother now more than anything because she'd been wrong. Both of them had. They had told Kal that these terrans were just like Kryptonians, but Kal had never seen a Kryptonian like this boy.

He was pale, for starters. Way paler than anyone that Kal had ever seen. He wondered if the boy had ever set foot in sunlight before, if the sun even penetrated Earth. The other difference Kal immediately noticed were the colours of his eyes. He didn't think he'd ever seen a blue like that before. It was muted, not quite gray, and even then not bright enough to be gray. There were hints of other, lighter blues in it, like the orb couldn't decide which colour it would have liked best and merged them all together. It was breathtaking, and distracting enough that Kal found himself lost for a few moments just staring at them. The boy speaking snapped him out of it. His mouth moved in an odd way, his vowels different and words Kal could vaguely pick out sounding almost unrecognisable on the boy's tongue. Even his mouth was weird, Kal thought, observing the differences between himself and the boy. Overall, when Kal was done he recognised that the boy looked nothing and everything like the two from the hologram. 

Kal could see where the boy's parental influences are, recognising the merge of genes here and there on the boy's features. But he was so uniquely himself that it marvelled Kal. On Krypton, it was more common to see men and women looking almost alike, often the parents choosing their own forms as suitable bodies for their children. Kal knew, himself, that he looked a lot like his father, mother telling him when he wondered why he didn't look exactly like Jor that she hadn't wanted a carbon copy of her mate. She'd splurged here and there, Kal looking just this side of abnormal in the El household that he was always given a second look at meetings. Or, he had. Grandfather, his uncle, his aunt, Kara, they were all gone now. 

The boy spoke again, Kal figuring he better try and pay attention this time since the tone implied it was important. He didn't get much. Barely anything at all except a few pronouns. Kal tried to apologise, to ask the boy to repeat himself, yet, he didn't know how. His parents had drilled into him phrases that would help him along. Questions for names of people and himself, directions. Yet, when it came to conversation and how to respond to certain things like repeating, they had neglected to research it. 

Kal ended up sitting there for a few minutes with his mouth grasping for words. It sent the boy into some kind of mood, his blue eyes narrowing as he turned on his heel and trotted away.

Kal followed. His mother had told him to learn after all, so learn he would.

It was easier navigating his new surroundings when he was following the boy. Since it was his home, the boy opened and closed doors with ease, knowing exactly where to go without having to consult a map like Kal had considered doing. He looked back every now and then to Kal, speaking that same strange language before giving up and walking just that little bit more quickly. Kal didn't mind, the pace bringing them to their destination quicker. 

The boy had seemed to think Kal needed food. Or, Kal thought that was what the boy thought. He'd brought Kal into some kind of kitchen anyway, Kal only knowing this because there was an elderly man at one of the counters stirring something that smelled nice in a bowl. The boy's, Kal wanted to say grandfather, snapped a few words at him, the boy's scowl deepening until he was slinking back over to Kal. 

He said something, Kal not fully grasping what. The boy huffed after a few more attempts, sending the elderly man another scowl that was quickly quelled with a stern finger. Eventually, the boy seemed to give up on communicating through words as he grabbed Kal's hand and tugged him along to the table. He sat when indicated, fingering his wrist where he could still feel the boys warmth lingering. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him like that. His parents did, yes, but they were helping him into the shuttle. This casual use of touch was odd, especially since they didn't know each other. 

He was dwelling on it as the boy came back, two bowls in hand which one he passed to Kal. The food, like the rest of this place was odd. There was liquid in the bowl in front of him. Some white opaque matter he couldn't place, and in between its currents were blobs of textured brown hoops. The boy didn't seem to find anything odd with it, eating the bowl he had without fuss. Kal tried to mimic as best he could, the utensil he was given an odd metal that held him distracted for a time. 

The meal, he concluded, was abhorrent. Kal was retching after his first bite, the elderly man hurrying over to Kal just as he brought it back up with another bowl in tow. His insides still protested as he brought up the lingering liquid in his stomach, Kal wondering if the boy had poisoned him.

But, the retching stopped, and in almost no time Kal was feeling well again. It was odd to say the least. He wasn't weak per se, however, he had been known to make a bigger deal out of his illnesses when they struck him than necessary. Usually because it did linger. Yet, here, on Earth, the cramps he was expecting did not come, and eventually he was sitting opposite the boy again, watching him swallow down the vile mixture of white and textured brown.

The boy and man conversed for a while, the man placing other foods in front of Kal that almost all had him bent over again. They were both so calm about it, even when the boy was done and man still hovering in case Kal had anything else to bring up. Kal couldn't help wondering if illness wasn't a big deal on Earth. Perhaps they had cures for things Kryptonians didn't have. It would be interesting to see if they did. But those questions would have to wait until Kal knew more about Earth's language.

When the boy had finished emptying his bowl, he came back over, speaking a few things to Kal that, again he didn't catch before grabbing his hand again and towing him out. Kal couldn't help staring at the boy's hand as it grasped him. It was so, obscene. He felt giddy, in a way that only someone who knew they were doing something wrong could feel. He wondered what touch meant on Earth. Whether it was abhorred like it was on Krypton, or, whether it wasn't. This boy didn't seem to have any problem with touching Kal. But, then again, he had only done so when speech failed him. 

Kal took a chance as they rounded the next corner, turning his palm until it grazed the boy's. The boy didn't look back, nor did he take his hand out of Kal's. When Kal actually took the boy's hand, using it to tug himself nearer, the boy didn't take his hand away then either. Kal truly felt wrong now. He'd only ever seen mates hold hands like this, and even then it was only in the most intimate of circumstances. Kal wondered if it was the same for mates here, if the boy was breaking a few rules just to make sure Kal followed him. Or- and here Kal didn't really know what to think- was the boy initiating this contact because he knew in future it would be okay to do so?

Kal's parents had mentioned that Kal was going to be living a new life here. They had already negotiated their stay with the terrans in this home. Perhaps, part of that agreement had been Kal bonding with this boy. Their genes would certainly produce an interesting child. It would be beneficial to both parties as well. Kal came from a well respected science orientated family. His father had assured him he could pursue that goal just as well here as he could on Krypton, so, in terms of caste, Kal was from a very good standing. In return for lodging and help building a life here, Kal would be happy pursuing a bond with this boy.

He pulled himself up alongside the boy again, taking another look at those sad eyes that tracked every corner of their surroundings.  _"I'm Kal,"_ he tried to introduce, the boy stopping and staring at him oddly for a few moments.

"Kal?" The boy repeated, Kal's name sounding interesting on a foreign tongue. Not bad, just different. 

 _"Kal"_ He pointed to himself just in case the boy didn't understand. 

He did however, proving he was somewhat bright. The boy seemed to dither for a moment before pointing to himself, "Bruce."

"Br-" Kal tried, again, the boy's sounds complicated to replicate.

The boy sighed, repeating slowly, enunciating every letter until Kal got a better idea, "Bruce."

"Br-oose," Kal nodded, pleased with himself for getting it.

Bruce didn't seem entirely happy as he sighed again, but he didn't try and correct Kal as he turned and started back down the corridor.

Bruce. An interesting name for an interesting terran.

While Kal's interaction with Bruce had gone well, he couldn't say the same for his parents. Three days they were unconscious, hooked onto some weird mass of masks and wires. At times, Kal had thought they wouldn't wake up, their breathing too ragged and bodies so still. The sight had left Kal clinging to Bruce. If his parents did die, Bruce was the only one here that could help him.

He kept close to Bruce everywhere he went, learning new things about his new home when he did. He learned where terrans relieved themselves, Bruce initiating contact when Kal peered for a closer look. Bruce's hands were colder than they had been before as they pushed against Kal's chest, so he held onto them, warming them. It seemed to be what Bruce wanted since he stopped struggling after a moment and settled for mumbling in that language of his as he finished his mission.

Kal also learnt about the red object on Bruce's bed. Kal hadn't bothered trying to navigate his room again, this place too foreign and frightening to possibly consider sleeping alone. Bruce didn't seem too concerned, yelling for the elderly man, Alfred Kal made out, and pointing at Kal. They argued again before Alfred came back with a pillow and sheet, the elderly man snapping something to Bruce before leading Kal to the sofa where Krypto had happily made his bed.

The object, like Kal thought, was a primitive writing utensil. After looking at Kal for a while, Bruce grabbed a sheet of white material and started writing. 

Kal was fascinated, the movements Bruce made so odd to someone who merely typed everything. He ended up getting a closer look, not minding in the least Krypto taking his pillow as he hopped up next to Bruce and watched liquid dry in weird patterns.

Trying to get too close to the pen had Bruce touching him again, Kal revelling in the motion for a moment berore shaking himself off and backing up. Bruce didn't seem to wish to relinquish the utensil, and since Kal did not wish to be distracted by touch he was forced to observe from afar. Kal was sure his father could work out how it worked. Perhaps make Kal one of his own. It would certainly help him blend in if he had materials like other terrans.

He spent all night dreaming of his new pen. The day after of new clothes when Alfred appeared with more Earth tunics for Kal to change into. The last night Kal barely slept at all. 

He was woken while it was still dark, his dreams of figuring out Bruce's house symbol disappearing to be replaced with screaming. For a moment, his mind confused itself, thinking he was back on Krypton. Yet, when Kal opened his eyes there were no tremors beneath his feet. No structures collapsing and people dying. Just Bruce, in his big dark bed, crying into his knees.

Kal didn't know what to do. When he had bad dreams he usually woke up and tried to find something else to do. Awake as he was now, he could go ask if Bruce could show him some more Earth objects. Yet, when Kal finally made his mind up to do so, he was beaten by Alfred coming in.

The old man didn't even hesitate as he yanked Bruce into his lap, rocking him slightly as Bruce tried to stop crying. There was mumbling in their Earth language, Bruce hiccupping a reply before Alfred dragged Bruce out.

Kal followed, his mind still processing what he'd seen. Alfred was touching Bruce. Not in a combative way, in a way only bond mates should have. Kal wondered for a moment if that was what they were when he remembered that Bruce had touched Kal in the same way. It appeared his early assumption of a tactile world was true, in which case Kal felt quite foolish now wondering hpw he would merge Bruce's house name with his own.

They came into the kitchen, Alfred helping Bruce up to one of the higher seats at the higher table, turning to do the same to Kal before going off to fetch more nausia inducing meals.

The tears had stopped, Bruce merely shaking now as he sipped slowly at the glass of white liquid that had been in both his own and Kal's bowls every morning.

That was the night Kal managed to hold down a 'cookie'.

In the morning, his parents were awake. They were weak, whatever medical cure had worked on Kal still trying to take effect on his parents. But they were awake and that meant they were getting better. 

 _"Kal,"_ Mother rasped, seeking him out in the room.  _"Are you well?"_

 _"I am mother. But you should be concerned more with yourself than me."_ He chanced hopping up next to her, watching with a weight in his chest as Lara shifted away. Pushing it to the side, he found Bruce lingering near Alfred, the old man tinkering with the wires connecting to father.  _"That's Bruce mother. He lives here. I think he is Thomas and Martha's son. He's been very welcoming, showing me around. You would not believe what terrans use for writing."_

Father worked his mask off, Alfred speaking something hurried, a warning Kal thought later, as Jor immediately started coughing. He calmed it down enough to speak hurried words in English, Bruce and Alfred understanding his meaning, the former storming off.

It took a while for Kal to find him again, leaving his parents to rest in their beds. Alfred was the one who eventually led him to the boy. Bruce had holed himself away in another wide room, this one crowded with what looked like a desk. He was scratching something again with his utensil, Kal seeing a whole host of them in a pot next to Bruce's hand. 

When he noticed Kal in the room Bruce didn't leave, which Kal thought meant he was welcome. It wasn't like Bruce could tell him, and since he wore that sour expression around Alfred as well it seemed that was merely Bruce's face.

He took a seat on one of the chairs opposite, watching Bruce for a while before chancing touching one of the utensils. They were smoother than Kal thought they would be. The tip was pointed, the liquid on Bruce's paper dotting out of it when Kal pressed it. It didn't seem micro chipped. Another hit the side of his hand, Bruce shoving the rest over when he got Kal's attention. It was permission, Kal realised, taking them with a grin. He tried asking if it was okay to figure out how they worked, but Bruce didn't understand. However, when Kal slowly uncapped the first pen, Bruce didn't tell him off or kick him out, so Kal thought he was in the clear as he started his dissection. 

Kal's parents were bedridden for a good two weeks. He visited them every time they were awake, Alfred coming to get him, like he knew just when they were about to be active. When he wasn't with them, Alfred took him to where Bruce was, and, eventually, and Kal was beginning to think after a pointed word from Bruce, Alfred started staying with them. He brought other sheets of that writing material, handing Kal a pen he hadn't took apart and started deconstructing Earth's language for him.

It was slow going, Kal forgetting most of what he was taught when the lesson was over, but, after two weeks, when his father made his first steps, he was able to say thank you to both Alfred and Bruce for their help. 

 _"On Earth, Alfred says_ thank you _is how they express gratitude. And, the weird stuff I have in my bowl is_ milk _it comes from a_ cow _and those are these really big creatures that have four legs and a nose that's kind of flat and they come in all these different colours. Oh, and the colours around here are pretty dull, I checked, all the big brown structures with the green on them Bruce said go orange and red when the year passes, but I looked on Bruce's holocomputer and the red and orange aren't as bright as what they are on Krypton. Oh, and..."_  Kal knew he was rambling, but he was so excited to show his father around. Especially outside. On Krypton they didn't have trees or grass, or even the birds that lived in them. Everything was so new and interesting. He knew his father would want to look at them as well. A scientist's job was to explore new things after all. 

 _"Kal, slow down,"_  Father warned, leaning weakly on one of the walls.  _"I think for today we should focus on finding our hosts don't you? I am very interested in talking with Thomas, he promised he was working on some kind of laboratory I could use."_

 _"Of course."_ Kal had left Bruce in one of the large rooms with a lot of chairs, and found him again sitting there. Father wasn't far behind, Bruce backing away slightly as Jor struggled to one of the chairs. Kal took the one next to Bruce, enjoying the fact he didn't shy away as Kal took the pieces of paper Alfred had started leaving around the house for him and wrote on the alphabet. They had worked out a system, Bruce's idea actually, where Kal wrote down his own alphabet and Bruce wrote down his and between the two of them they figured out what the other wanted to say. It was hard at times, Bruce and Kal both encountering absences between the two languages, but it was easier than just speaking and hoping the other one would automatically understand.

It took about ten minutes for Kal to ask Bruce where Thomas and Martha were. In his whole stay here he'd never seen them, figuring they were out at work, father had said Thomas was a healer. Yet, when Bruce finally understood what was being asked, instead of answering like he was supposed to, he stormed off.

It was Alfred that eventually told them. Bruce had confined himself to his room the rest of the day, not even Alfred able to get him out. Kal looked to be sleeping in his own room as the hours went on, and when it came to dinner and Bruce still hadn't come out, Alfred told them that Thomas and Martha was a sore subject. He didn't understand why exactly since Alfred couldn't communicate as well as Bruce on their paper. But Kal got that Thomas and Martha weren't around anymore. 

Bruce came out of his room the next morning, Kal quickly switching seats so he was next to him. His presence at the table didn't last long however, father managing to find a way to ask about his lab and sending Bruce back up to his room. Kal spent the whole day not talking to his father for that. He had driven Bruce away just as he'd come down, and it wasn't like he could have worked even if Bruce did show him. Still weak, it would be a while before father was back on his feet. Jor had just sentenced Kal to a day of loneliness, one he was probably sleeping through as he recuperated the rest of his strength.

Kal ended up spending the day learning the Earth alphabet, wishing Bruce was there with him. It was easier hearing it from Bruce's mouth than Alfred's, it didn't feel so condescending. 


End file.
